A network device may connect to one or more networks through one or more network interfaces. For example, a network device could have two Ethernet cards that are coupled to two separate Ethernets. If one or more of the network interfaces associated with the device connect to the same network, the device may “channel bond” the network interfaces. In particular, the network interfaces may be logically presented to applications executing on the device as a single interface. This allows the applications to utilize the bonded interface as a single interface when communicating with the network.
For instance, the network device could have two Ethernet cards that are coupled to the same Ethernet. When the device channel bonds two or more network interfaces, the device may increase sending speed by sending data onto the network through any of the channel bonded network interfaces. In addition, if one of the network interfaces fails or loses connectivity, the device can continue to send and receive data from the network through the remaining channel bonded network interfaces.